Tire Piles Getting Cleaned Up

A state contract for $1.2 million will be used to clean up 630,000 tires from 47 sites around the state — including two in Kitsap County.

The contract is for two companies to work together to get the tires cleaned up, said Kara Steward of the Washington Department of Ecology's Solid Waste Program. The companies are Tire Disposal and Recycling of Portland and L&S Tire Company of Lakewood and Spokane.

Airport Auto Wrecking on Old Clifton Road in Port Orchard has done a lot of cleanup already, Steward said. About 3,500 tires have been placed into a pile for removal, which could come before the end of July.

The second Kitsap site is Bremerton Auto Wrecking on Highway 3 south of Gorst. An unknown number of tires there have become overgrown with blackberries and weeds, she said. She wants the contractor to remove the overgrowth with an excavator and then pull out whatever tires they find.

Steward said Ecology wants tire piles cleaned up because they serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, including those that carry dangerous pathogens.

"They also can catch on fire and are nasty to put out, and they leave a hazardous residue behind," she said. "They're also unsightly and a poor use of a natural resource."

Tires can be ground up and remolded into mats and other items. Sometimes the tread is stripped off and used as bumpers. Tires also can be used as fuel and burned at high temperatures, such as in cement kilns.

The state collects a $1 fee on the sale of new tires, which goes into a special account for cleaning up old tire piles.

Some 140 tire piles have been identified with the total number of tires estimated at 5 million. Over the past several years, about 44 sites have been cleaned up, removing about 3.6 million tires. The remaining sites are expected to be cleaned up by the end of 2010.

State officials estimate the total cost of cleanup at $8 million.

Washington law requires a state license and solid-waste handling permit for the storage of more than 800 tires, said Laurie Davies, manager of Ecology's Solid Waste Program.

"Increased enforcement of existing laws and more emphasis on recycling will help reduce the need for cleanup of future tire piles," she said.